The canary
๐ In short
The canary is a small bird with a lovely voice, and many people like keeping one at home to enjoy its singing. It gets its name from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where wild canaries still live today.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- A canary is rarely more than 20 centimeters long.
- Long ago, miners took canaries with them because the birds warned them when the air underground went bad.
- A pet canary lives about 10 years if it's well looked after.
- Wild canaries live in pairs, but sometimes gather in flocks.
๐ Find out more
๐ Yellow or green?
We usually think of canaries as bright yellow, but wild canaries are olive green! Yellow, orange and white canaries appeared after people kept them at home for a long time.
๐ A talented singer
It's mostly the male canary that sings, with long and varied tunes. A young canary can learn new tunes if it hears other birds singing nearby.
๐ก A soft nest
The female canary builds her nest from grass and soft moss on tree branches, lays four or five small eggs in it, and sits on them until they hatch.
๐ฏ How do we look after it?
A canary needs a clean, roomy cage, clean water every day, the right seeds and a few vegetables. It must be kept away from bitter cold and smoke.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 Where does the canary's name come from?
2 What color is the wild canary?
3 A canary is rarely more than ?? centimeters long.
4 Which picture shows โThe canaryโ?
๐ฆ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Juan Emilio ยท CC BY-SA 2.0
- Juan Emilio from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Espaรฑa ยท CC BY-SA 2.0
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